Irony

Anyone that has children, or has been around children, knows that no matter how much you love them they can easily drive you nuts. A few weeks ago was a prime example for me. Why did I wait a few weeks to post about it? I think I've just been trying to figure out how everything got so crazy. I find it ironic that I experienced a weekend from hell, just a few days after I posted about how much I'm enjoying staying home. I honestly do love being a stay-at-home mom, but last weekend pushed me to my limits.

In the middle of October, Matt went out of town to hike the Grand Canyon with a few friends, so CJ and I had the weekend to ourselves. He hadn't slept well on Friday night, so I figured that Saturday would be an easy day because he'd take a long nap. Yeah right! He fell asleep in the car while we were out, which ended up being the only 20 minutes he slept during the day. Somehow, he mustered the energy to drive me nuts all afternoon. It really felt like he was just jumping from one bad decision to another. When he went down to bed at 8pm, I figured that I would have a quiet evening with lots of sleep. Wrong again! He woke up from 11-12, 3-4 and 5-5:30am.

While I was really tired, I decided that church would do us some good. 15 minutes into church, CJ fell asleep. This was good because he wasn't making a ton of noise, but I was terrified that he wouldn't take his normal afternoon nap. Sure enough, he did not go back to sleep that afternoon. Again, his waking hours were spent driving me crazy. He would climb on the dining room table, and then reset the DirecTV box, and then open the liquor cabinet (which I know should be childproofed). It was a never-ending circle of mayhem! I could tell he was tired that night, but I was skeptical that he would actually sleep. Just in case, I decided to take a bubble bath and have a glass of wine. If I was going to be up all night, I might as well be somewhat relaxed. To my surprise, he slept until 5:30am, which was better than some mornings.

By Monday (Matt's return date) I was physically, mentally and emotionally wiped out. I had not really had any down time during the weekend, and CJ and I were starting to really drive each other nuts! Thankfully, we had preschool that morning, which kept him from falling asleep early. As I fought him to take a nap later, I lost it. It's a little embarrassing to admit that I simply broke down, but I think most moms can sympathize. I was so excited when Matt called to let me know that he would be home 3 hours earlier than expected. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel! By the time Matt got home I was fried.

I learned a lot in those few days. Never had I gone that close to the edge of crazy. There may have been moments where I crossed over into crazy. Looking back, I see some things that I probably could have done to keep what was left of my sanity. Here are the three biggest lessons:

1. I should have realized that he was not going to keep himself occupied without getting in trouble. Instead of hoping that I could get things done, I should have just stopped trying and taken him to the park. Honestly, no one would have cared if my dishes weren't done or if the vacuuming was delayed by a day. I think I would have been in a better place had we just gone and done things to keep him busy.

2. I could have called a friend to help. I am lucky to have two friends within a 30 second walk of my house. By Sunday afternoon, I probably should have just called them to watch CJ for 30 minutes so I could regain my composure.

3. Wine and a bubble bath really does a body good! I truly felt like a new person when I stepped out of that tub. I highly recommend it if you are ever on the verge of a breakdown!

While I didn't win "Mom of the Year" that weekend, it could have been worse (although not much). Hopefully, I'll remember this experience in the future and avoid insanity.